Composting keeps your garden full of nutrients and reduces a household’s trash by 20 percent. This also reduces the amount of waste put into landfills and reduces fuel consumption for garbage trucks. Composting is something every home should do, but many do not because it can be smelly, unsightful, and take up valuable and much needed space. However, this tip will solve all these problems. So for those not composting for any of these reasons, there are no more excuses.
What is needed – plastic container or bottle (example 2-3 liter bottle)
This plastic container/large bottle can vary in size depending on how much room available in the garden. Obviously, the smaller it is the more often it will need to moved, which could be beneficial because it will spread the nutrients around the garden faster. Choose a container/bottle where the sides are parallel to each other (this will make it easier to slide out of the garden when full). Once the container is chosen, cut the bottom completely off so that there is no edge that will catch on the soil when removed and cut a large enough hole on the top so that scraps can easily be put into it.
Find an empty spot in the garden where it receives good sunlight and dig a hole the size of the container. Once done, put the bottom of the container in the ground and deep enough so that about 1-2 inches is still above ground (this makes it easier to remove). For those concerned about animals getting into it, many times the bottom of the container can be used as a lid and a rock can be placed on top.
Once the container starts getting full, do not fill it to the max. Leave a few inches so that soil can be filled in over the top. Once the soil has covered up the compost, grab the sides of the container so that everything stays in the garden and only the container comes up (tip: may need to push down on the soil on inside of the container to make sure it doesn’t come up with it. There is now no sign of where the compost was and can be repeated in another area of the garden. This will attract worms and help it quickly break down and transform it into nutrient rich soil.
Tip: The deeper the hole is dug the better, if dogs or other animals have access to the garden it is best to have the hole deep enough so that plenty of scraps can be put in and then 8 inches of soil filled in over the top. This should keep animals from digging in the area. For those needing to dig deeper but having difficulty finding a large enough container, a good option is to tape two 2 or 3 liter bottles together.
For many new to composting and not sure what can be composted, and rule of thumb is that if it was once alive, it can be composted. Here is a short list of the most common things regularly composted:
– Vegetable and fruit scraps – Coffee grounds/tea bags (not the bag or staple) – Eggshells (crushed) – Leaves – Grass clippings – Twigs/chipped tree trimmings – Weeds that haven’t set seed